Moraine Park Technical College held its seventh Strategy, Alignment, Talent (STRAT) 2.0 program graduation ceremony on December 12, 2018, at the Fond du Lac campus.

The STRAT 2.0
program was developed by Moraine Park’s Economic and Workforce Development
division and goes beyond the typical training – integrating feedback, stretch assignments,
experiential learning and one-on-one coaching to accelerate individual
performance. Individuals are sponsored by their employers and organizations to
participate in cross-functional development linking strategy and execution to
achieve measureable results within their organizations. Through the
program, students participate in workshops, networking events, professional
coaching and self-assessments to reinforce application of key concepts to
enhance individual and organizational effectiveness.

STRAT teaches participants how to make big-picture management decisions and helps them develop self-awareness as a leader that improve their company’s performance. A local executive sponsor indicated, “STRAT teaches participants how to deal with today’s issues and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges. You need to look at how to put out today’s fires while preventing them in the future.” The program supports companies with their succession planning strategy and developing their talent pipeline for the next level of executives.

Talitha is the new WIOA Training Navigator for Moraine Park, stationed on the Beaver Dam campus and part of the Economic and Workforce Development department. In case you are wondering what WIOA stands for, it means Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and Talitha’s primary role is to provide various supports for adults with barriers who want to pursue MPTC training programs which help lead them to economic self-sufficiency.

Talitha comes to Moraine Park having spent the last ten years teaching Language Arts at La Follette High School on Madison’s east side. She has also taught AVID for five years, which is a program designed to support students with barriers succeed in high school and prepare for college. While she found profound meaning in her work as a teacher, she was also ready to make a career change and is excited to shift her career to providing individualized supports for motivated adults.

Talitha says she is passionate about the goals of WIOA which align with the amazing work that MPTC is already doing. She believes that by eliminating some of the small financial barriers that prevent many individuals from pursuing education/training, we can help them forge paths out of poverty and dependence on government assistance. Talitha is truly excited for the opportunity to support motivated individuals pursue more stable and meaningful lives, and feels honored to do this work as a member of the MPTC community.

On Thursday, June 14, 2018, nine Six Sigma Green Belt candidates representing 4 local manufacturing companies presented their final projects and received their certifications. The graduation ceremony took place on the Moraine Park Technical College Fond du Lac Campus with business representatives, sponsors and project champions present.

Participants completed 88 hours of training over 6 months, and additional time working on their independent project work collecting and analyzing data to improve products, processes and reduce waste. The return on investment from these projects resulted in over $536,000 – an average of $60,000 per company, with opportunity to continue saving as the projects are fully implemented and scaled.

Six Sigma Green Belt certification programs are suited for individuals who are expected to work with process improvement initiatives. Though the use of the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) process, participants will apply the skills and tools learned to their workplace project. To learn more about Six Sigma Green Belt, click here.

There’s academia, then there are technological skills and finely developed knowledge that comes with experience. Graymont, a global lime producer in Eden, WI, realized that all are important for success, and not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Moraine Park Technical College held its 13th annual Manufacturing Skills Academy graduation on Friday, May 25. The College had 20 students graduate from the program; eight from the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist boot camp and 12 from the welding boot camp.

The Moraine Park Technical College Economic and Workforce Development Department is pleased to welcome Mindie Boynton as a new Business Representative. Her role as Business Representative is to consult with businesses and other organizations to identify skills gaps of their employees, develop a plan to close those gaps, and then execute the appropriate training. Her goal is to help businesses become more competitive and profitable, and organizations to become more effective and efficient by helping their employees acquire new skills or improve their existing skills.

Mindie comes to MPTC from UW Oshkosh, where she was the Director of the Growth Management Academy and also an Outreach Program Manager for the past 6 years. She also served as a coach and mentor to students participating in the Sales Emphasis program through the UW Oshkosh College of Business. Prior to that, Mindie spent the past 10 years in private sector sales and marketing roles.

Mindie earned her Bachelor’s degree from UW Milwaukee. She is a Certified Program Planner (CPP) and is licensed in social & behavioral research.

She has served on many regional committees and boards to include the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance task force, Northeast Wisconsin IT alliance committee, Oshkosh Chamber marketing committee, Propel steering committee, and Women in Management, past president.

She enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons and French bulldog. They enjoy spending time on the lake, live music, traveling and all things outdoors.

“I am excited to be a part of the EWD team that is developing talent and tackling important workforce challenges that impact our region and beyond. I am passionate about developing meaningful relationships, helping businesses achieve their goals by connecting them with resources to be successful.”